Hi Tom - yes, LEDs seem to be a much less risky way forward. And they seem to last forever too. You can even get a choice of colour, by which I mean a really white light or a yellowish tint. I don't mean anything too wild - green, red(!), blue etc. Personally I think a yellowish tint would be a good match for the original appearance.
Regards

Terry Gardiner wrote:Hi Tom - yes, LEDs seem to be a much less risky way forward. And they seem to last forever too. You can even get a choice of colour, by which I mean a really white light or a yellowish tint. I don't mean anything too wild - green, red(!), blue etc. Personally I think a yellowish tint would be a good match for the original appearance.
Regards

I put LEDs in my interior lights in the 330. I got them before there was a choice in the color and mine are too white. A cooler white on the yellow side would look better. Anyway, at least I can leave the door open on not have to worry about melting the lens.

The left side is an original incandescent bulb while the right is a white LED.

P1000601 (2)_small.JPG (6.2 KiB) Viewed 1268 times

Another bulb that one should consider changing to LED is the trunk light. That also has a plastic lens covering it and it's possible for the trunk light to stay on if the trunk lid is not shut tight.

I also tried LED festoon bulbs a few years ago. On the bright side (definitely no pun intended), the LED's are much brighter, run super cool and use almost no power (comparatively), but as others have said the color temperature can be way off. They are also a bit directional with light as you rotate the bulb. The key (I presume not having tried it) is to get bulbs with a color temperature of 2700k, which is the closest match for incandescent. I would go even lower than 2700k if they are available because I think those festoons are a rather dimly lit incandescents. 3000k might look ok, but anything above that and the cool blue lighting looks very out of place in a vintage car.

I ordered mine back then from superbrightleds.com and they didn't have 2700k at the time, they might have them now. I just did a quick google search and it looks like 1000bulbs.com has some festoons in 2700k, but I didn't check specific sizes.

I am meeting Yolanda tomorrow to deliver the lights for the molds. There are at least two styles, the big one is from my Series III (which I believe is the one Martin needs and the thinner one is from a very early Series I. Not sure when they changed styles. Will post photos of the results when they are done and you guys can decide on which ones you want.

Hello Tom
The wider light looks like the one from my series 111 and I will be happy to take a lens when ready. I think you must have my contact details, if not let me know and I'll PM them to you. Your involvement is appreciated.

I received my top light glass from Yolanda now - great work, it looks fantastic! Just wanted to give this feedback and show you the result - thank you very much for this recommendation and the contact to Yolanda!

I received my top light glass from Yolanda now - great work, it looks fantastic! Just wanted to give this feedback and show you the result - thank you very much for this recommendation and the contact to Yolanda and special thanks to Tom Wilson for bringing his glasses as a template for the mold!

What an improvement Martin! It was worth the wait. I have put in an order for more and they will be ready on the first of AugustYolanda charges $30 each and I will be selling them for $30 plus postage. Send me a Private Message if you want some and we will work out the details.